NEW: Providence Police Union to Vote on Pension Settlement Thursday

The Providence Police union will vote on a proposed pension reform settlement that will freeze cost-of-living-adjustments and require retirees to enroll in Medicare at the age of 65 on Thursday, according to union attorney Joseph Rodio.

The settlement, which came after Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter ordered the city and the city’s three unions (Police, Fire, Local 1033) as well as the retirees into mediation, is expected to generate approximately $18.5 million of savings this fiscal year.

The retirees and other unions have already voted to approve the settlement.

Officials have said they expect that the pension reforms agreed to during mediation will reduce the City’s unfunded pension liability by as much as $170 million. The changes to Medicare will save approximately $40 million over the next 10 years.

The Police vote will come less than a week after the state asked Taft-Carter to toss out a suit filed by the state’s top labor unions that argues that the pension reform overhaul signed into law last year by Governor Lincoln Chafee was unconstitutional. She has yet to rule on the request.

The statewide unions have pointed to Providence’s pension changes to suggest that the state should return to the negotiating table to reach a settlement, but several leaders, including General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and House Speaker Gordon Fox, want to leave it up to Taft-Carter.